ClariPHY 28nm SoC Brings Telecoms Into the Datacenter

SAN FRANCISCO — ClariPhy Communications has launched a CMOS-system-on-chip that can bring coherent 100 Gbit/s optical links used for telecoms systems into the datacenter.

The 28nm CL10010‐Z SoC was announced at OFC on March 10 and integrates a 100G Ethernet to OTN (Optical Transport Network) mapper that enables industry standard C Format Plugs(CFPs) to plug directly into existing CFP ports on Ethernet switch or router line cards, eliminating the need for external transport gear. The company has partnered with Sumitomo to combine the chip with Indium Phosphide optics to reduce the cost of the plugs in the datacenter.

The 28nm chip contains a high-speed analog‐to‐digital and digital‐to‐analog converter, a coherent DSP supporting 40G QPSK, 100G QPSK, and 100G 16QAM modulation, multiple low‐power forward error correction (FEC) options and an integrated OTN framer/mapper that supports 100G Ethernet connectivity. The power efficient architecture enables a 100G coherent CFP module within the 32W power budget defined by the CFP MSA (multisource agreement) with reach up to 1200km all in the same hardware design. The device supports QPSK modulation with integrated GFEC and G.709 Annex C mapping, enabling interoperability with other CFP implementations.

ClariPhy Communications' 28nm CL10010‐Z SoC

The 100G coherent technology is being rapidly adopted by carriers for long‐haul dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) networks because of its spectral efficiency and reach compared to the previous generation of 10G (non‐coherent) systems. However, the high cost, power consumption and size of today’s 100G coherent solutions make them unsuitable for use in shorter reach metro networks and inter‐datacenter links, where cheap, pluggable 10G DWDM solutions such as XFP and SFP+ dominate. This an increase in fiber capacity 170% over today's 100G coherent systems and drops cost by approximately 50% says the company.

The pluggability also allows reuse of line cards with 100G client CFP interfaces for DWDM transmission and enables operators to scale their metro transport networks to 100G and beyond with “pay as you grow” flexibility from point to point unamplified links up to 80km (commonly known as the "ZR" application) as well as metro DWDM connections up to 1200km and is aimed at carriers that are looking beyond field trials for 200G to 400G deployments.

The deal with Sumitomo is also important for low-cost connections. Nobu Kuwata, general manager of the Technology and Marketing Department of Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations (SEDI), wrote in a statement:

We are pleased to partner with ClariPhy to bring to market a coherent CFP based on the CL10010‐Z. By combining ClariPhy’s SoC with SEI’s world class indium phosphide optics technology and deep experience in volume manufacturing of pluggable optical modules, we will deliver the benefits of coherent technology to metro and datacenter networks. We will provide first samples of our 100G coherent CFP next quarter. We believe indium phosphide is the most mature and viable optics technology to enable coherent optics for high volume applications.